Saturday, December 4th 2021
“Here to get the thing”
DTB team squinted at “ugliest salad bowl”
It works even without Alexander Zverev: The German tennis team plays in the Davis Cup as well as it has not for a long time. Now Struff and Co. are dealing with Russia – probably the most difficult task so far. But the goal is clear: to win the “ugliest salad bowl in the world”.
The object of desire is already within reach for the German summiteers in the Davis Cup – in the truest sense of the word. This trophy monster weighing more than 100 kilograms is set up on the edge of the Center Court in Madrid, giving Jan-Lennard Struff and Co. a huge incentive during the training sessions. “So far we’ve only seen the bowl on posters. I think that’s another extra motivation,” said captain Michael Kohlmann and made the announcement: “We’re here to get the thing.”
His team also wants to get closer to the “ugliest salad bowl in the world” in terms of sport – even though they are in the semifinals (1 p.m. / ServusTV) is once again an outsider. Because the Russian team around US Open Champion Daniil Medvedev and Andrej Rublew is probably the biggest chunk in the tournament. And yet the selection of the German Tennis Federation (DTB) is opposed with a broad chest.
“We are ready and hot, we want to take this next step. The semifinals is not what we are committed to,” said Kohlmann confidently: “Now we are so close. We see no reason why we are with it should be satisfied. ” For the first time since 1993, the last of three titles to be won in the prestigious team competition, a DTB team can reach the final again.
“Surprises possible”
Of course, the outsider role against Medvedev and probably Rublev cannot be discussed away. “We are talking about number two and number five in the world. That is quite a task,” said Kohlmann, but also emphasized: “This competition has shown in the past few days that surprises are always possible. That is where we start. “
After arriving from Innsbruck, the German players had committed themselves to their mission in Madrid with paella, Manchego cheese and Iberian ham in proper style. And that thanks to their excellent team spirit, they don’t have to be afraid of big names even without the vacationing world-class player Alexander Zverev, they have already demonstrated enough.
Both Serbia for world number one Novak Djokovic in the preliminary round and in the quarter-finals the favored British for Indian Wells winner Cameron Norrie were left behind – after all, the DTB had an ace up its sleeve in the top doubles Kevin Krawietz / Tim Pütz in all three games so far. In the case of the Russians, who officially appear as the “Russian Tennis Association” as a result of the sanctions following the state doping scandal, on the other hand, there are two individual players of the very highest caliber.
For the German team it is again a matter of forcing the decision in doubles – after all, Pütz (7: 0) and the two-time French Open winner Krawietz (6: 0) have not yet lost a match in the Davis Cup. “If the score is really 1: 1, the Russians will think about what’s going on,” said Kohlmann: “If you win three games in a row at 1: 1, you can go out with a big chest.”
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